New Jersey Pastor Released From Delaney Hall After 18 Days in ICE Custody

Pastor Yeison Cortes Vasquez of The Gathering Place Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, was released on bond from ICE's Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark on April 11, 2026 after 18 days in custody. He was detained on March 20 while working his food-delivery day job; DHS said he had overstayed a tourist visa from Colombia that expired in 2016. The National Latino Evangelical Coalition says Cortes Vasquez has no criminal record and had been ministering to other detainees at Delaney Hall while held. He has been released with GPS monitoring while removal proceedings continue.